What is subletting?
What is subletting?
The other day I was talking to my son about renting in BC. The topic was about subletting a unit. Many people misunderstand what subletting is under BC law.
He understood subletting to be when one person rents a property then rents out the spare room they are subletting the space. I explained to him this is incorrect.
In BC there are two terms in the tenancy laws that are interpreted incorrectly. Both involve the tenant who resides at the property to vacate the unit. The difference between the two terms is what happens after the tenant vacates the unit.
When a tenant signs a tenancy agreement they are obligated to stay to the end of the term of that agreement. Most tenancies start with a one year agreement then become month to month after that period. If a tenant is in a term agreement and wants to leave before the end of the term then they can ask the landlord to either sublet or assign the agreement.
What is subletting?. Simply put subletting is when a tenant vacates the tenancy for a period of time and is planning to return to the unit. If a person is offered a temporary job which requires them to move for three months for the work then they can replace themselves in the tenancy by subletting the unit. This means after a period of time they will return to the unit. This is what subletting a rental in BC means.
What is assigning? When a tenant is in a tenancy and this time they are offered a job in another city, except in this situation there is no time frame of when they are going to return then they can assign the unit to a new tenant. When you assign the tenancy to a new tenant they take over the tenancy and they become the new tenant.
Many people think renting the second or third room is subletting. In BC that is just simply having a roommate, and roommates are not covered under BC tenancy law. If you are renting a room from a person and your name is not on the lease you are considered a roommate. The person you are paying the rent to is the tenant and they are responsible for the tenancy. We have seen in the past where a roommate is paying the tenant rent, and the tenant is not paying the landlord the rent causing all parties to be evicted for non-payment of rent.
When you are assigned the tenancy then you do become the tenant and obtain all the rights of a tenant under the tenancy act. It is important for tenants to understand the difference between subletting and assignment.
In the standard BC tenancy agreement it states a tenant can assign or sublet the agreement if there is 6 months or more remaining in the fixed term of the agreement. A landlord must not unreasonably restrict the sublet or assignment. For an assignment if the tenant is on a month to month agreement there is no need for the landlord to approve an assignment of the tenancy. In a month to month tenancy the tenant would just give notice to vacate and end the tenancy, as they are not expected to return to the unit.
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